Ralph Lauren has announced that in the difficult times of coronavirus pandemic, it makes company’s commitment to protect the environment more apparent by using 170 million plastic bottles in its product and packaging by 2025.

This Spring, the brand is expanding its Earth Polo shirt offering with a larger capsule consisting of new colours and designs. Designed with Mother Nature in mind, The Earth Polo is crafted from thread produced entirely from recycled plastic bottles and dyed in an innovative process that uses zero water. Every Earth Polo shirt is made from an average of 12 plastic bottles.

“Changing the way we innovate, design and produce our products is the first of many steps we are taking as a company to be more sustainable. For us, it all started with the Earth Polo,” David Lauren, chief innovation officer at Ralph Lauren, said in a statement. “Ralph Lauren will commit to removing at least 170 million bottles from landfills and oceans, and will convert the use of all virgin poly-fibre to recycled poly-fibre by 2025. Plastic waste is a major issue threatening the environment—we want to be part of the solution and utilise an innovative approach to create something valuable.”

“When Ralph founded our company more than 50 years ago, he did so with the idea that whatever we create is meant to be worn, loved, and passed on for generations. It’s with this spirit of timelessness that we approach sustainability,” Halide Alagoz, executive vice president, chief supply chain and sustainability officer at Ralph Lauren, said.

In June 2019, the brand stated that in its global citizenship and sustainability report, about its comprehensive strategy and goals. By 2023, the brand will achieve zero waste to landfill across its distribution centres. It also stated that by 2025, it will achieve at least a 20 per cent reduction in total water use across its operations and value chain, and 100 per cent of its key production and packaging materials will be sustainably sourced.